Ivan Briggs Joins PBA Galleries as Director of Fine Pens and Comics

PBA Galleries of San Francisco California is excited to announce the return of Mr. Ivan Briggs to their staff as Director of Fine Pens and Comics.  

In 2007 Mr. Briggs moved to Bonhams Auctioneers where he quickly advanced to Senior Specialist and then Director of fine writing instruments. He established himself as a leading worldwide authority on fine pens at auction, with a series of successful previews and sales in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris and Hong Kong. Selling over $10,000,000 in fine and rare pens during his nine years, numerous world record prices for pens were realized, including $305,000 for a pair of vintage Namiki Emperor fountain pens in 2015. In his role as premier authority, Mr. Briggs has discussed the pen market with the New York Times, the BBC, Robb Report, the South China Morning Post and numerous other media outlets.

Ivan Briggs also brings a longstanding expertise in comic books to PBA.  As comic book buyer in the 1990s for San Francisco's Green Apple Books, he compiled two highly successful mail-order catalogues for rare comic book material, with emphasis on pre-code horror and crime comics and comic-related hardcover books.  During this time, he sold the original cover for Mad #21 (the first cover appearance of Alfred E. Neuman) for five times the value achieved by Sotheby's for the same piece. In December 2014, Mr. Briggs sold a single-owner collection of comic books and graphic novels for Bonhams, San Francisco, and realized world-record auction results for half a dozen lots (including a final price of $16,250 for a copy of Incredible Hulk #181, that featured the first full appearance of Wolverine, CGC-certified at 9.8).

Mr. Briggs has served as a consultant for the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, and maintains the world's most extensive collection of vintage comic-related photographs, a number of which have been published by Taschen Books, Kitchen Sink Press and others.  His interest in comics is wide-ranging, with an emphasis on pre-code horror and crime comics (particularly EC), undergrounds (particularly the work of R. Crumb), Golden Age, Silver Age, and original comic art.

Mr. Briggs is excited to bring his expertise to PBA. “I’m eager to work with my network of pen clients around the globe, and to welcome new buyers and sellers into the fold, especially young collectors seeking a more tactile, individual and authentic relationship to the act of writing than is afforded by electronic devices.”

PBA Galleries is a leader in collectible books, maps and works on paper and holds auctions of these every two weeks.  For more information regarding upcoming sales, consignments, or auction results, please contact PBA Galleries at (415) 989-2665 or pba@pbagalleries.com